Hi Everyone
I'm speaking to you from a poolside of a lovely garden hotel in PP. It's cloudy and breezy so perhaps there is rain on the way. We're here to start our last bit of language training at the VSO Programme Office tomorrow. The blog is a welcome diversion from learning vocab!
Geoff arrived back safely from UK via Singapore last night and I travelled south on the bus from a Health Workshop in Siem Reap yesterday. It was great - lively, informative and friendly and largely presented by volunteers. I sat next to a hospital management adviser from Broadbottom, near Glossop who said that a volunteer coming out in the October batch to work in the province next to us, has parents who live in Saddleworth! He is called Oliver Shipp for those Saddleworthians reading this. The world is a small place.
Geoff has had a good time and says to say sorry to all those he was unable to speak to.He spent most of the time with Nick and his Mum and saw the Farne Islands and Bamburgh in the sunshine.Our house is still in one piece and I'm looking forward to getting onto our roof with my new paints. It's been very quiet without him but I've been busy at work teaching his 3 English classes, supporting the Project Manager in writing his quarterly report and interviewing for a new manager for the Project's community based health insurance scheme. The next big priority is to look for a new donor as the present funding ends in April 09. There seems to be no sense of urgency even though everyone could be out of a job in 9 mths, including me! Today we said goodbye to an Indian couple in our group who are returning home as their placement has not worked out - I think they have found it difficult to adapt to the very different work culture here.
We have a good social life to look forward to for 2 weeks, especially good as there are few treats in Samraong. I've survived though with the company of the other 2 volunteers - bike rides, coffee in the market, lunch in a lean too shed costing all of 70p, and lots of reading has helped to pass the time, but its good to have Geoff back.
Hope the Summer sunshine continues and that those of you going away have a lovely time. Keep us posted!
Much love from us both
Carol and Geoff xx
Sunday 19 July 2009
Friday 3 July 2009
Buddy Week in Kratie
Hi Everyone
We've been back almost a week from our trip to the SE of Cambodia - 1 1/2 days of buses and an overnight stay en route each way.We're getting used to feeling saddle - sore but I'm so grateful for Yoga and the Alexander technique which I have plenty of time to practice and which seem to sort us both out. Geoff arrives in the UK today, for 2 weeks, having booked a flight via Singapore so as to have a night with Laura and Alberto.He's spending time largely with his Mum and Nick.
We stayed with 2 volunteers in Kratie, our age, the wife, a doctor, working in health promotion and her accompanying husband, teaching english to young people recruited to work in the tourist industry. They made us feel very welcome in their large wooden house in spite of the heat and frequent power cuts. I visited villages with her and her health promotion team, spent time with a volunteer working as a maternal and child health adviser, and also a Kenyan volunteer who works as a health adviser to a small NGO like me but is having a really difficult time with inadequate funding and poor organisation.Kratie is a poor, small town, very much in need of building repairs and a general clean - up, like so many places in Cambodia, but the sunsets over the Mekong were stunning, they had a couple of western restaurants, and it felt good to meet new people. We then had a stunning day watching the Irawaddy dolphins from a small boat on the Mekong. We saw lots, swimming in the deep pools , but their numbers are falling and the WWF in Kratie feel that their nos, about 70, are nearly unsustainable. Pollution from the likes of China and Laos seem to be the major culprits.
We had a night of luxury on the way home - we've found a great boutique hotel in Siem Reap, Golden Banana, which we would recommend to any of you planning to visit us and Angkor Wat.It's run by a couple of guys, Thai and New Zealand, with a great pool, stylish rooms, and of course, a/c. Very friendly staff too. So all this along with massage, pedicure, 2nd hand bookshops and a lovely French restaurant set us up well for our return to Samraong. The road is still good inspite of heavy rain and we were home in 2hrs.
It feels good to be home. I think that I have turned a little corner in that I feel more settled and time seems to be passing more quickly. Geoff has really settled in well - I wonder how he'll feel about the UK? I've begun to work on my activities which I need to come up with for my VSO review visit in August/Sept. and we've heard this week that we are getting 3 more health volunteers in October. So then we'll be 6!.
I've just come back to the office from a day's celebration to mark the completion of a village irrigation scheme and a new bridge. A crowd of about a 100 villagers, lots of speeches from the likes of the district governor and the programme coordinator of ZOA, a Dutch international NGO, - she's Irish, married to a Cambodian, speaks fluent Kamai and has lived here for 15 years! - and followed by a big party with food, lots of beer and whiskey, and dancing to a live band. These people know how to enjoy themselves - Dad, in his younger days , would have loved it!
On that happy note I'll close - keep the comments and emails rolling!
With lots of love
Carol and Geoff xx
We've been back almost a week from our trip to the SE of Cambodia - 1 1/2 days of buses and an overnight stay en route each way.We're getting used to feeling saddle - sore but I'm so grateful for Yoga and the Alexander technique which I have plenty of time to practice and which seem to sort us both out. Geoff arrives in the UK today, for 2 weeks, having booked a flight via Singapore so as to have a night with Laura and Alberto.He's spending time largely with his Mum and Nick.
We stayed with 2 volunteers in Kratie, our age, the wife, a doctor, working in health promotion and her accompanying husband, teaching english to young people recruited to work in the tourist industry. They made us feel very welcome in their large wooden house in spite of the heat and frequent power cuts. I visited villages with her and her health promotion team, spent time with a volunteer working as a maternal and child health adviser, and also a Kenyan volunteer who works as a health adviser to a small NGO like me but is having a really difficult time with inadequate funding and poor organisation.Kratie is a poor, small town, very much in need of building repairs and a general clean - up, like so many places in Cambodia, but the sunsets over the Mekong were stunning, they had a couple of western restaurants, and it felt good to meet new people. We then had a stunning day watching the Irawaddy dolphins from a small boat on the Mekong. We saw lots, swimming in the deep pools , but their numbers are falling and the WWF in Kratie feel that their nos, about 70, are nearly unsustainable. Pollution from the likes of China and Laos seem to be the major culprits.
We had a night of luxury on the way home - we've found a great boutique hotel in Siem Reap, Golden Banana, which we would recommend to any of you planning to visit us and Angkor Wat.It's run by a couple of guys, Thai and New Zealand, with a great pool, stylish rooms, and of course, a/c. Very friendly staff too. So all this along with massage, pedicure, 2nd hand bookshops and a lovely French restaurant set us up well for our return to Samraong. The road is still good inspite of heavy rain and we were home in 2hrs.
It feels good to be home. I think that I have turned a little corner in that I feel more settled and time seems to be passing more quickly. Geoff has really settled in well - I wonder how he'll feel about the UK? I've begun to work on my activities which I need to come up with for my VSO review visit in August/Sept. and we've heard this week that we are getting 3 more health volunteers in October. So then we'll be 6!.
I've just come back to the office from a day's celebration to mark the completion of a village irrigation scheme and a new bridge. A crowd of about a 100 villagers, lots of speeches from the likes of the district governor and the programme coordinator of ZOA, a Dutch international NGO, - she's Irish, married to a Cambodian, speaks fluent Kamai and has lived here for 15 years! - and followed by a big party with food, lots of beer and whiskey, and dancing to a live band. These people know how to enjoy themselves - Dad, in his younger days , would have loved it!
On that happy note I'll close - keep the comments and emails rolling!
With lots of love
Carol and Geoff xx
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